Beginning with the Class of 2006, students in California public schools were required to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) to demonstrate competency in grade-level skills in reading, writing, and mathematics to earn a high school diploma. The content of the CAHSEE was based on content standards in English-language arts and mathematics that were adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) in 2003. In 2010, the SBE adopted the Common Core State Standards in English–language arts and mathematics.

Due to the change in academic standards, Senate Bill 172 (Liu) was signed by the Governor to suspend the administration of the CAHSEE and the requirement that students pass the CAHSEE to receive a high school diploma for the 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18 school years. The law required that schools grant a diploma to any pupil who completed grade twelve in the 2003–04 school year or a subsequent school year and met all applicable graduation requirements other than the passage of the high school exit examination. The law further required the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene an advisory panel to provide recommendations to the Superintendent on the continuation of the high school exit examination and on alternative pathways to satisfy the high school graduation requirements pursuant to Education Code sections 51224.5 and 51225.3. The law became effective on January 1, 2016.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment System utilizes computer-adaptive tests and performance tasks that allow students to show what they know and are able to do. This system is based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English-language arts (ELA)/Literacy and mathematics.

Smarter Balanced Test Blueprints – These summative blueprints reflect refinements and revisions after the analysis of the Pilot and Field Tests. The test blueprints describe the content of the ELA and mathematics Summative Assessments in grades 3‒8 and grade 11, and how that content will be assessed to reflect the depth and breadth of the performance expectations for the CCSS. These test blueprints provide information about the number of items, score points, and depth of knowledge for items associated with each assessment target.They will also continue to guide the development of items and performance tasks, score reporting, and ongoing research.

State law (Education Code sections 313 and 60810) and federal laws (Titles I and III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA]) require that local educational agencies (LEAs) administer a state test of English language proficiency and develop Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for: (1) newly enrolled students whose primary language is not English, as an initial assessment, and (2) students who are English learners, as an annual assessment. For California’s public school students, this test is the California English Language Development Test (CELDT).

The purposes of the CELDT are the following:

To identify students who are limited English proficient (LEP)

To determine the level of English language proficiency of LEP students

To assess the progress of LEP students in acquiring the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing in English

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